Hammermills are used for grinding or comminution of materials. Typically hammermills consist of a rotor assembly mounted on a driven rotor shaft inside a fixed housing that defines a working chamber. The fixed housing is fixedly connected to a base that also supports a motor for driving the rotor shaft. As the driven rotor shaft rotates it causes rows of hammers to impact and reduce the material within the working chamber. Cutting plates are mounted within the working chamber to promote reduction of the material.
Generally, the hammers and cutting plates wear during use. In a typical hammermill, the fixed housing must be removed to gain access to the hammers and cutting plates. The housing is typically heavy and is not easily removed. Further, the working chambers and rotor assemblies of such hammermills are not easily removable from the hammermill base.